Marina Yacht Harbor Advisory Committee
Minutes of Meeting of May 11, 1998
The meeting began at 6:35PM. In attendance were the following members:
Bill Palmer East Harbor
Jack Kaus St.FYC
Dave Miller GGYC
Courtney Clarkson West Harbor
Emeric Kalman East Harbor
Dave Natcher West Harbor
Joan Girardot Marina Civic Association
Al Cavey Tenants Association
Tim Breece East Harbor
Les Goldner West Harbor
Committee members who did not attend were:
Gloria Fontanello Marina Neighborhood Assoc.
Bill Belmont City Yachts Concession
Jim Vickers Waiting List
Also in attendance were:
Lydia Miller Dave Miller’s spouse
PJ Papa A harbor tenant
Christine Kaplan City Yachts concession
Gary Davis Rec. & Park
Mike Morlin Rec & Park
Jeff Greenfield A harbor tenant
Margo McGraff A harbor tenant
The meeting commenced with Courtney laying out some ground rules and requesting that the
members focus on making improvements rather than upon being vindictive toward harbor
management. She stresses that we all need to work together in a democratic manner and
respect the opinions of other members.
The Minutes were reviewed for acceptance, and Joan read a correction to a statement attributed
to her. A few members felt this correction did not represent what was actually stated by Joan, but
the Advisory Committee accepted the correction. The Minutes were approved as corrected.
It was decided that agenda items for each meeting would be discussed during New Business at
the prior meeting.
Bill Palmer led a discussion of the By-laws for adoption by the Committee. Bill did a great job of
culling pertinent information from bylaws of other organizations and gave each member a set of
proposed by-laws tailored to our Committee. The Advisory Committee agreed that unless
Sunshine rules prevent it, Executive sessions may be held where Rec. & Park staff and the public
are not present. Mike Morlin will talk to the City Attorney’s Office to find out what rules govern an
Advisory Committee. After discussion it was agreed that we would finalize and adopt these By-
laws at our next meeting.
Courtney asked each member to list the 5 issues they felt were most important for the Advisory
Committee to address. The Committee agreed to rank this list by overall importance and by the
urgency in which they should be addressed. This list is attached to these Minutes.
It was announced that Bill Belmont no longer represents the City Yacht Concession, and the
Advisory Committee voted in Christine Kaplan to fill this position.
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At Emeric’s request, Mike Morlin had sent members of the Committee a harbor financial package.
This information was to include actual and budgeted revenues and expenses. Mike was asked to
discuss these, but it turned out that some Committee Members had been sent the expenses, and
others had been given revenues. Since the group had not had the full package to review, the
discussion was tabled until the next meeting, to give time to provide a full financial package to all
Members for their review.
Gary Davis made a brief report. He stated that testing the extent of the hazardous materials
beneath Gas House Cove harbor would be completed at the end of June and that surveys would
also be made in support of the sand mining in Outer West.
He also reported sending 43 letters to tenants accusing them of living aboard and demanding that
their boats be presented for head inspections during a 4-hour window on 9 specific days in May.
These letters supposedly were sent with 10 days notice, but some tenants reported that they had
less than 3 days from the time of receipt of their letter to respond. This response was due on the
Friday prior to the Monday meeting. Gary reported that only 14 tenants had responded.
Les asked why the letters gave such short notice and were so threatening. Gary said that 10
days was what they typically used. Mike Morin said that the language “could result in cancellation
of your berthing agreement” was not threatening. Gary also reported that 45 sub-lease violation
notices threatening eviction were also sent out.
These notices of violation and eviction had not been discussed in advance with the Advisory
Committee. Some members expressed concern and dismay at this seemingly indiscriminant and
harsh action and questioned why Gary had not taken this matter to the Advisory Committee for
discussion before acting. By bypassing the Advisory Committee, Rec. and Park seemed to have
made it clear that this Advisory Committee does not have any policy oversight accountably for
helping to decide policy issues in the Harbor. This places into question the purpose and the
value of this Committee.
Bill Palmer raised the issue of pump outs that rarely work and bathrooms (heads) that are locked
at night. He asked Gary why heads were not re-keyed to allow boaters 24-hour use of the heads.
Gary & Mike both indicated that this could be done when keys become electronic, sometime in
the future. Bill objected saying that access is needed now. Both Gary and Joan voiced security
concerns with opening heads at night, but Bill reiterated that keyed access for boaters use is
needed to minimize bay pollution and should not cause other problems. Mike said that this
sounded reasonable and said that he would look into giving boaters keyed access to the heads.
The informational presentation by Chuck Stern was postponed to a later meeting.
The next meeting agenda was discussed. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30PM.
Submitted by Les Goldner
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Issues ranking by (name):_ _____________________________________
Rank single items from 1-17 (1 is most important or most urgent)
# Issue Urgency Importance
1 Harbor maintenance
2 Outer West Breakwater / surge reduction
3 Gas House Cove Breakwater/ surge reduction
4 Sand mining and dredging-Outer West
5 Harbor Management’s failure to manage
6 Transfer of Berth rules & Turnover
7 Staff spending, budgeting and financial reporting
8 Inappropriate eviction notices and live-aboards
9 Contract letting process/ Cost-benefits
10 Parking and traffic
11 Preservation of open space
12 Fair and uniform enforcement and rules
13 Dredging the Gas House Cove (& contamination)
14 Security and Gates
15 Facilities (bathrooms, power, etc.)
16 Sublets and Berthing Agreement
17 Reality Checks: Harbor Issues/conditions factsheet
Add other issues below:
______________________________________________ _______ _________
______________________________________________ _______ _________
______________________________________________ _______ _________
______________________________________________ _______ _________
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At members’ request, a confidential list of members and staff phone numbers follows:
Bill Palmer East Harbor 664-6618
Jack Kaus St Francis YC 922-5225
Dave Miller GGYC 822-5655
Courtney Clarkson West Harbor 921-3610
Emeric Kalman East Harbor 665-5777
Dave Natches West Harbor 931-1462
Joan Girardot Marina Civic Association 346-5525
Al Cavey Tenants Association 567-1742
Tim Breece East Harbor 771-1136
Les Goldner West Harbor 441-0650
Gloria Fontanello Marina resident 771-8662
Jim Vickers Waiting List 467-5204
Christine Kaplan City Yachts concession 567-8880
Gary Davis Rec. & Park 292-2013
Mike Morlin Rec. & Park 831-2700
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By Laws of San Francisco Marina Yacht Harbor Advisory Committee
Adopted __________
Purpose
The purpose of the Advisory Committee shall be to recommend policies and operational
procedures to Recreation and Park staff and to The Recreation and Park Commission. The scope
of this activity includes identification of problems, recommendation of solutions regarding the
management, funding, and improvements associated with The Marina Harbor from Ft. Mason to
the Presidio and from Marina Blvd. to the Bay.
At any presentations to the Commission or its Committees on any agenda item made by the Rec.
and Park Department staff, the Advisory Committee may testify as to its position.
Membership
The make up of the Advisory Committee shall consist of 13 members appointed as follows:
6 berth holders, 3 from each of the two yacht harbors
1 person from the berthing Waiting List
1 member appointed by the Harbor Tenants Association
1 member appointed by the Golden Gate YC
1 member appointed by the St. Francis YC
1 member appointed by City Yachts
2 Members from the Marina district adjacent to the Yacht Harbor
The harbormaster shall attend all meetings and is a non-voting ex officio member of the Advisory
Committee.
Each member of the Advisory Committee has one vote. Members may not designate an alternate
or substitute when they are unable to attend a meeting.
Replacement of a member
Members should attend all Advisory Committee meetings. Members who fail to attend 3
consecutive meetings, or who fail to attend 2 consecutive meetings without prior written notice to
the Chairperson, shall be removed from the Advisory Committee and a replacement chosen by a
simple majority of vote of the remaining members.
Officers
Officers consist of a Chairperson, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary.
The officers are selected by majority vote of members present from among the sitting Advisory
Committee members at the May meeting and serve from time of selection for 1 year until the
subsequent May meeting.
The Chair shall maintain Advisory Committee membership attendance records, shall assure that
an agenda is prepared and distributed prior to each meeting, arrange for appropriate Rec. & Park
staff attendance, and assure that all necessary public notice of the meeting be made.
The Vice Chair shall assist the Chairperson and in the absence of the Chairperson shall conduct
meetings performing all functions as the Chair.
The Secretary shall keep for the Advisory Committee a summary of all actions and votes taken by
the Committee, keep a list of all members of the public giving testimony before the Advisory
Committee, keep a summary of their remarks, and prepare recommendations for the Rec. and
Park Commission and staff at the direction of the Advisory Committee.
In the absence of the Chairperson and Vice Chair, the Committee membership shall, by majority
vote, elect a person to act as chairperson for the meeting.
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If an Officer fails to attend a meeting without prior notification to the other officers and without
arranging for performance of the functions for which the officer is accountable, that Officer shall
be relieved of the office and a new Officer voted in at the meeting.
Voting Process
A quorum of members consists of over fifty percent of the membership of the Advisory
Committee. A quorum must be in attendance for an election or to vote on an issue.
A simple majority vote by the quorum in attendance shall be required to elect the officers or to
make recommendations. A vote of two thirds or more of the quorum is needed to change these
by-laws
Mid-term vacancies of members or officers shall be filled by election for the unexpired term from
among those qualified for the position by a majority vote of a quorum. The election shall occur at
the first regular or special meeting in which the vacancy becomes known.
Meetings
Regular meetings shall be held on the second Monday of each month unless otherwise
designated by the Advisory Committee.
Special meetings of the Advisory Committee may be held at the call of the Chair after polling
members by phone.
Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of the Advisory Committee meetings except
where these by-laws stipulate otherwise.
Items to be included on the agenda for subsequent meetings will be established by the Advisory
Committee at the end of each meeting. Other items coming to the attention of members prior to a
meeting will be addressed as new business.
Sub-Committees
From time to time, the Advisory Committee shall form sub-committees by a majority vote. The
sub-committee will report to the full Advisory Committee on any action or recommendation made.
Tentative Amendment
A Chairperson may call for an executive session during the regular meetings. Such sessions shall
exclude all non-voting meeting attendees. Matters discussed at such a session shall remain
confidential unless a majority of the quorum votes to make the matters public.
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Courtney: these are my items for the upcoming agenda:
 The staff’s justification for their harsh and discriminatory treatment of long term tenants who
are accused of living on their boats or sub-leasing berths.
 Discussion that includes Rec. & Park staff of an appeal process for these tenants who have
received eviction notices.
 An explanation of why Gary Davis had the Tenant Association meeting notices torn down and
recommendations from the Committee regarding this practice.
 An explanation by Rec. and Park staff (or perhaps from its Chairperson who you may want to
invite) of why they did not take the live-aboard or sublet rule enforcement and eviction
matters before the Advisory Committee for discussion and concurrence before taking action.
We need to know what they think we are supposed to do!
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